I Became a Swordsmanship Genius in the Game

Chapter 17. You’re gonna have a match with me

The Frogman couldn’t believe his eyes even after seeing the swordsmanship performed by the human in front of him.

‘Is this even possible?’

Although there were still many clumsy and messy parts, the swordsmanship the human performed was definitely ‘Skirma Swordsmanship’.

‘To be able to imitate it like this after seeing it just once….’

As he stared in amazement at the human’s genius, he suddenly thought of another possibility.

Is it really possible to imitate a swordsmanship immediately after seeing it once?

A doubt arose as to whether he was being deceived.

‘…There’s no way he just learned the swordsmanship now. He’s definitely deceiving me. That despicable human…!’

If he was deceiving him, there must be some intention.

Having organized his thoughts, the Frogman called out to the human.

“Stop! That’s enough.”

“Hoo… Then are you going to teach me the next step now?”

For what purpose was he deceiving him like this?

“Let’s have a little spar. But only using Skirma Swordsmanship.”

Arrogant human.

The moment his suspicion was confirmed, he thought he wouldn't let him go.

‘No matter how hard he tries to deceive me, he’ll never be able to do it in a real fight.’

Swordsmanship is a memory engraved in the body.

If he threatened the human, he would have no choice but to stop pretending to be a beginner and reveal his true skills.

“Are we starting right away?”

“Do your best.”

The Frogman thrust his sword towards the human.

Swish—

The human took a step back and narrowly dodged the sword.

The Frogman exchanged blows with the human, hiding his inner thoughts.

The human’s movements were getting better as time passed.

‘…Of course.’

The Frogman gradually increased his sword speed to punish the insolent human.

Wounds slowly started to appear one by one on the human’s body.

“…Ugh!”

He should feel a sense of crisis with wounds like these, but the human was serious.

Something was strange.

He examined the human’s expression again.

The Frogman, a veteran gladiator in the past, could clearly tell the opponent’s intentions by looking at their expression.

The human’s face was by no means that of someone deceiving another.

With a strange feeling, he began to observe the human’s swordsmanship in detail again.

Only then did the human’s swordsmanship appear objectively.

Like a lotus in a swamp slowly blooming from the mud.

Slowly, very slowly, his swordsmanship movements were improving.

It wasn't a trick or deception.

Really… he seemed to be slowly learning the swordsmanship.

‘…No way.’

It didn’t make sense.

The human’s single display of swordsmanship had caught up with his years of effort.

Swish—!

The human’s swordsmanship was getting sharper and more precise.

‘His skill… is improving?’

He wasn't slowly revealing his hidden skills.

The truth was that his skills were improving during the spar.

As he realized the truth, goosebumps started to rise on his coarse skin.

The tip of his sword, unable to hide his agitation, trembled.

Crack—

With a loud noise, the human’s sword broke.

The broken sword seemed to represent the Frogman’s current state of mind.

* * *

The blade of Hyunwoo’s sword, which had snapped in the middle, rolled at his feet.

‘…It finally broke.’

You’ve worked hard.

The first sword he had obtained with his own hands.

Because they had been together for a short period, he sent it off in his mind with a brief moment of mourning.

Hyunwoo gasped for breath.

“Hah… Hah….”

“…Come back tomorrow.”

“What?”

With those words, the Frogman went deeper into the sewer.

‘He’s very expressive.’

The Frogman showed various expressions while watching his swordsmanship.

He felt that his attitude was strange, but now he didn't even have the strength to think further.

He had really pushed him as if he were going to kill him.

‘Is this the Demon World’s way of training?’

This was Hyunwoo's impression, having unknowingly escaped a life-threatening crisis.

Although his body was tired, a rewarding result remained before his eyes.

⌜Skirma Swordsmanship (2-Star)―19%⌟

‘It’s definitely fast.’

The proficiency of the swordsmanship he had just learned was already close to 20%.

The Master System, the Rookie title, and the Swordsmanship Genius trait.

The synergy of these three blessings created an unbelievable result.

Splash—

Hyunwoo dragged his tired body back through the sewer he had entered.

Fortunately, there was running water at the sewer entrance to wash with.

‘This water doesn’t look very clean either, but….’

This was no time to be a picky eater.

At least the water flowing from the entrance didn't smell like something was rotting.

It would be better than going to the market like this.

Swoosh—

As he washed his body in the running water, he thought about what he had left to do today.

It seemed better to stop by the weapon shop before the slap fight.

Now that he had learned the swordsmanship, it was time to start preparing for the Black Whale hunt.

Because the form of the newly learned swordsmanship was now clearly drawn in his mind.

‘And my sword broke too.’

Hyunwoo tucked the two pieces of the broken sword blade into his clothes.

It was now useless scrap metal, but these were also mana stones.

“Phew….”

The drenching of water cooled down his heated body.

Shaking his completely wet body, he immediately headed to the weapon shop outside the alley.

Not long after leaving the alley, he arrived at the weapon shop.

‘Raven’s Iron and Fire.’

He entered the weapon shop he had already scouted.

Tinkle—

A nostalgic sound came from the bell attached to the door.

“Welcome!”

A clerk who resembled a reindeer approached Hyunwoo with shining, large eyes.

“Is there anything you’re looking for?”

“Hmm….”

He rested his chin on his hand and looked around the shop.

He needed a thin, pointed sword suitable for Skirma Swordsmanship.

Even at a glance, he could only see large and bulky weapons.

“Is custom ordering possible?”

“Of course. What kind of weapon do you need?”

“A piece of paper, please. And a pen.”

It seemed better to show him a rough drawing rather than explaining with words.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

He took the paper and pen and started drawing in a corner.

He drew the shape of the sword, recalling the sword the Frogman had wielded and the Skirma Swordsmanship.

‘I’m the one who even drew the rough character designs myself.’

He had some confidence.

From the sword’s handle to the length and shape of the blade. He drew every part of the sword in detail.

‘Done.’

Holding his work, he went to find the clerk with a proud heart.

“Here you go.”

“Yes.”

The clerk who received the paper stared at Hyunwoo’s drawing for a long time.

‘Hmm. I did draw it well.’

Soon, the clerk’s mouth, with a kind smile, opened.

“May I ask a few questions?”

“Yes. By all means.”

At first, I thought he was admiring how well I had drawn the blueprint.

“This is the handle, right?”

“That’s the blade part….”

“You want the grip to have a flower pattern, right?”

“No. It’s a shape that wraps around the hand in a circle….”

“This?”

“……”

But the subsequent Q&A made me realize he hadn’t understood my drawing at all.

I discussed the shape of the sword with the clerk for a long time.

The clerk took out a new piece of paper and began to draw a new blueprint on it.

A moment later, the clerk let out a deep sigh and handed me the newly drawn blueprint.

“Phew… So you want it made like this, right?”

“Uh…? Yes.”

The blueprint the clerk drew was definitely different.

Come to think of it, the design team who had received my drawings in the past had also handed back their own altered designs.

‘Could it be… that I’m terrible at drawing?’

At this point, it occurred to him that the design team’s re-creation process might not have been due to creative freedom, but because of his drawing skills.

“The advance payment for a custom order is 100 mana stones.”

Hyunwoo took out the mana stones with a troubled expression.

“Here you go.”

“Please visit again in two days.”

“By any chance, can I sell a sword?”

He remembered the broken sword in his clothes that he had forgotten about.

The clerk looked at the broken sword Hyunwoo took out and said.

“It’s badly damaged, so I can give you the scrap value for it. Would you like to sell it for 10 mana stones?”

“Yes. I’ll sell it.”

The sword was originally worth over 100 mana stones, but now it was less than a tenth of its original price.

The repair cost would be more anyway.

He handed over the sword without any lingering attachment and left the shop.

He had spent a lot of time drawing.

Hyunwoo looked up at the giant hourglass floating in the sky.

The moment the sand ran out was the market’s closing time.

When the time comes, the revolving door turned by the skeleton soldiers keeps turning, but the doors to the floors lock.

The sand had almost run out.

From the looks of it, that amount was about an hour.

He had to hurry and participate in the slap fight to get the trait.

‘It’s about time I got the Pain Tolerance.’

Hyunwoo left the shopping district and immediately headed to the street where the slap fights were held.

The street he arrived at was crowded with onlookers today as well.

The guy who was currently fighting looked familiar.

‘That guy….’

It was the rhinoceros who had knocked him down on the first day.

No, it wasn't just the first day.

He had lost to that guy quite a few times during the slap fights.

An opponent he had yet to defeat.

KABOOM—!

The opponent who was hit by the rhinoceros collapsed with a loud bang.

Keoheok—!

As expected, he was overwhelming.

I knew because I had been hit by him.

“Only boring guys again today.”

When no more challengers appeared, the rhinoceros reluctantly withdrew.

Watching his retreating back, Hyunwoo steeled his resolve.

‘Someday, I’ll definitely make you kneel before me.’

Before that, getting the Pain Tolerance was the priority.

As another opponent other than the rhinoceros stepped onto the platform, Hyunwoo quickly got on.

“Hah. It’s you again, human.”

“Oh, long time no see.”

By now, most of the participants who gathered here recognized him.

Thanks to that, they were on terms to exchange friendly greetings.

“Long time? The guy who comes every day is talking nonsense.”

“Don’t you know how to greet? You should get the hint, you idiot.”

“…This bastard!”

After exchanging greetings, they immediately started preparing for the slap fight.

‘This guy isn’t very strong.’

Through the practical experience and practice so far, he had become able to control the strength of his slaps.

With an opponent like this, it was better to exchange blows several times to obtain ‘Pain Tolerance’.

“Ready!” Official source ıs noⅴelfire.net

The referee’s hand went up.

Hyunwoo’s first attack.

“Alright. Here I go!”

SMACK—!

As he dealt with the guy with moderate strength, the guy immediately counterattacked.

“Where do you think you’re going, with just this!”

SMACK—!

Their slaps went back and forth like a rally.

SMACK—!

SMACK—!

They were minor attacks, but it was dangerous if they piled up.

Just as his cheeks were swelling up like steamed buns and he was starting to feel a little bit of danger.

‘Huh?’

A change occurred.

He didn't feel any pain from the last hit. It wasn't that his senses had dulled.

Hyunwoo naturally lowered his head, pretending to endure the pain, and checked his status window.

“Is that all you’ve got?!”

“13! 12!….”

The triumphant voice of his opponent and the referee’s counting sound no longer registered in his ears.

⌜Trait : Pain Tolerance(New!)⌟

Finally, the trait he had so longed for appeared in his status window.

And it was even an innate trait, just like the first three traits Hyunwoo had!

⌜Trait : Pain Tolerance

Description : ‘The only pain left is the wound in the heart.’

Physical pain is felt less. Mental stress due to pain is alleviated.⌟

‘Finally!’

It was the price for his swollen cheeks over the past week.

Now there was no reason to get hit on purpose.

Hyunwoo raised his hand.

“9! 8!….”

“Hmph! Bring it on….”

KABOOM—!

“Keoheoheok!”

He used Sabla Swordsmanship to send the guy’s cheek flying in one go.

‘I got what I wanted.’

Now it was time to settle the score.

Hyunwoo didn’t get down and shouted while looking at the rhinoceros.

“Come out, you bastard.”

“Are you calling me, kid?”

The rhinoceros pointed to himself with his thumb and asked back as if he was dumbfounded.

The guy who had dealt him consecutive humiliating defeats.

“Yeah, that’s right. You’re gonna have a match with me.”

Hyunwoo looked at the guy and grinned.

He was a fitting opponent for a slap fight graduation gift.